Tuna Rant!

I made some tuna salad for lunch today.  I have been noticing that our tuna seems to have a more "fishy" smell and taste lately, so I did some label reading.  We have sort of prided ourselves on buying quality white albacore tuna..My husband seems to think the oil pack is best for some reason and really has to hunt for it and will buy 10 cans at a time when he finds it.  Wrong thing to do.  Find out that the oil sort of counters the natural good oil of the tuna and when you drain it you drain away the good oil too.  When I read the ingredients I was a little shocked.  Here it is.
White Tuna, soybean oil, water, vegetable broth, salt, pyrophosphate.  Contains fish (tuna), soy>   OMG

Just when you think you are doing something healthy.  All the additives is to add volume for weight so you get less tuna.  Also most brands cook the tuna first so they can de-bone it easier then when they put it in the can it gets cooked again.  We probably get very little nutritional value from our "heart healthy" tuna.   I found most of this info by looking for it on Google.  They suggest you look for tuna that is line and hook caught and the ingredients simply says Tuna.  So I guess I will start reading the labels a little better.

Next rant will be about fabric softener! Perhaps I should do that now as it sort of ties in with the tuna.
While doing laundry today (yes I wash cloths on Sunday and even hang them on my clothesline) I noticed that there was a dark ring around the washing machine tub right at the water level line.  So I ran some hot water in the tub and got my trusty comet out to scrub it.  Well it wouldn't touch it.  So I rubbed it with my finger and found it to be sort of sticky and oily at the same time.  Ended up using fingernail polish remover on a little scrubby and it came right off.  So I got to thinking how when I put Downey into the washer it is hard to rinse the little cup out.  Bingo, my Ah, Ha, moment.  It was residue in my washer from using Downey.  So I Googled this too and found out what the ingredients in fabric softener are and was amazed.  Someday we are going to wake up and realize how we are poisoning our bodies and country with the chemicals that are so widely used in everything.  And there is a substance in there that binds with the fabric to make it soft, then all the perfume is to cover the smell of the first thing.  Uggg    An alternative is a little white vinegar in the rinse water.  Think I will give that a try.  Found some other natural things that might be worth a try.

I sound like the comedy character Earl Pitts.  If you haven't heard him on the radio, Google his name and watch a you tube video of him    He always cracks me up and most of the time his ranting is actually right on.  He always ends with the words, "Wake up Uhmerika"

So all I have to say is Wake Up  Uhmerika"!

To much STUFF!

If you ever heard George Carlin's rant about our "stuff" you will know where I am coming from.  Perhaps its just getting older that we start wondering about all the "stuff" we have.  Just look around!  We start off with very little, maybe a few hand me downs from family to get started.  Then we spend years buying things to make us comfortable or happy.  Then family keeps giving us their stuff or they die and leave a whole box car load of crap.  Stuff has sentimental value for us too.  I can look up right now and see three framed counted cross stitch pictures that my older sister did years ago.  She is dead now so of course I can't get rid of them, sentimental huh? 

But sometimes doesn't it get heavy on the back and soul?  How many dishes, pots, and pans do we really need.  If you are like me you end up using the same two or three 99% of the time.  And look in the closet.  The items closest to the front are the ones I wear the most, so that means over half in there haven't been worn in a loooooong time. 

I have been watching this series on TV called Tiny Homes.  It really has my attention.  I look around at my furniture and realize I could get rid of most of it and not really care.  Do I think I could live in a tiny home.  Your bet! Alone!!!!!  LOL  Not with anyone but I could do it if and when I find myself alone. 

Can you imagine the freedom you would feel to walk in and just have one comfy chair to sit in.  Walk over to the kitchen area and open cabinet to see just enough dishes to last a couple meals, not a whole china cabinet full, plus 3 cabinets full.  Again we use the same few over and over from habit or its really all we need.

Maybe that's what it boils down to  "What we need"  Of course I would have to keep my shop to keep all my weaving and sewing "stuff"  but that would be OK, wouldn't it??

The lost art of blogging

What has happened to our favorite bloggers?  Me included.  I find I haven't posted on here since March for crying out loud!  Maybe with FB now and we can't blow our nose without announcing it to everyone, we just don't take time to sit down and write anything thoughtful or meaningful.  Then life sometimes gets in the way and there is so much going on that its hard to make sense of it all. 

I have been cleaning out "stuff" from my computer today and must have had 30 blog sites that I saved.  Deleted most and when I clicked on some to wonder why I saved them, found they hadn't posted anything in 2 years or the site was closed down. 

So I now vow to start blogging again, even though it is most likely just for me, and that is OK.

I have a second blog linked to this one about my book store.  Mostly I have posted my newspaper column on it and now am a slacker on that.  Sorry big brother, you are the only one who said they liked to read it.  I am planning to pretty much close my book store out after 9 1/2 years.  Have been selling down and tearing out shelf units since last Nov.  Gradually moving most of my weaving in here and plan to have a private weaving studio here.  Not sure about maintaining  my business license.  So checking with smarter folks to help me decide what to do with that.

So on this cheery note from yours truely here is a picture for my own entertainment if nothing else.

Anyone there? "NO"

Hope I can type without laughing out loud!  Just got a phone call from one of those automated deals.  He starts off with Hi, I am Jason and since you recently stayed in one of our resorts (NOT) you qualify for 4 free nites at Orlando Florida and all you have to do is rent a car from (some company).  Now may I ask you a few questions to see if you qualify?  I say "NO"  Thanks, first are you over 21?  I say "NO"  Thanks do you have a Credit card in good standing?  I say "NO".  Well it looks like you don't quallify for our offer, thank you, have a good day.  Laughing out loud by now!

I get these calls almost weekly, and used to just hang up, now I stay on to see if they have an opt out option.  Some do, but don't know if it does any good.  Some when its an actual person on the phone I ask them to take my name off their list, and they rudely just hang up before I get the word "list" out of my mouth.  Well I know its a crappy job for you but don't be rude,  I wasn't.

Any way, most of the time if the call is from some area code I don't recognize I just click it to voicemail.  Figure if its a real person that actually needs to talk to me they will leave a message.  Never happens.

We did have a time share for about 15 years and it was nothing but a money pit.  Actually had to pay them money for "recording" fees when we signed it back to them.  No way you can sell this crap, couldn't even give it away.  Oh well live and learn,  it is a big relief to be rid of it.

Will end with a quote from Will Rogers:  Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

Old Friends

Held a weaving workshop yesterday and as women do we got to talking.  The topic of friends came up and we all decided that in the process of moving about the country as I have you end up with few "good" friends.  We meet many people who become friends but our "old" friends are the ones that we share a history and life experiences with.  You just can't get that with new friends.  We can tell each other stories about our past and family, but there is nothing like that girlfriend that you shared a bed with at sleep overs, rode the school bus with, and went thru first boyfriend experiences with.  We were young and free to speculate about the world and think about what we would do when we "grew up"  Then the years slip away and you may not see each other for years at a time but eventually you are able to reconnect and instantly the years melt away and you just click like you did many years.  You understand each other even though by now you may have differences if political or religious matters.  What REALLY matters is that you are still friends after all these years.  You can still talk about the silly things that you went thru and also the heartaches and blessings you have had.  So here's to Old Friends and I hope there are many in your life as I feel blessed to have a few and if they stumble upon this I hope they see themselves and know that their presence in my life has probably helped make me who I am today and maybe in some small way I contributed to you also.  I found the lyrics to a song that Dolly Parden and Kenney Rogers did called You Can't Make Old Friends and copied part of them here.

What will I do when you are gone?


Who's gonna tell me the truth?

Who's gonna finish the stories I start,

The way you always do?



When somebody knocks at the door,

Someone new walks in.

I will smile and shake their hands,

but you can't make old friends.



You and me, will be together again.

Cause we both know, we will still be old friends.



You can't make old friends

Not the way we have always been.

Always looking for something!

Was recently looking at some blog sites that I have not visited in quite a while and found a common thread.  That others have had the same lack of time or desire to blog after years of posting their thoughts and lives.  I wonder if part of it is the social media that we all dabble with now.  We are just flooded with so much "stuff".  

Have been wanting to write another blog titled "I Am"  I did that several years ago and enjoyed putting some thought into deciding what kind of things make us who we are today.  We have so many things that influence who we become and I have decided that no matter how old we are we are still a work in progress. 

One thing I highly recommend is to not wait for that right "moment" when you think your life will be just right and you can experience something you have been waiting for like happiness, wholeness, or self satisfaction.  Ain't gonna happen!  There is no right moment when it will all fall into place.  At least that is what I think. 

Have you ever put something in a safe place then can't remember where that safe place is?  It is so frustrating.  I have been looking for my old cell phone for several weeks now.  I try very hard to put a picture in my mind of where and when I saw it last.  I tried a little of this visualization once when I wanted to find something and it actually worked.  Well not this time.  Very frustrating.  Now I can't help myself, I keep looking!

I wonder if its my computer or if others have trouble with this blogger site?  I have difficulty navigating when I am typing.  Can only go forward or back space.  Can not move the cursor.  Now I can only load pictures that I have on my phone,  It won't let me pull them from my computer files.  Feel the computer has a block on it for some reason.  Well this little laptop is over 7 years old so is almost a dinosaur. 

Added a picture of my loom with a rug in progress.  I have made 25 rugs this winter.  Think I will be ready for Farmers Market this year. 

OK I feel I am back in the saddle so maybe I can get some thoughts on here again.  I have read some very good books lately.  My column for book reviews can be found on my other site that is linked to this one.  Till next time: Blessed are the cracked, for the let the light in!

This is nuts

Wow can't believe it has been so darn long since I posted anything on here.  So will try to catch up a little and post a few pictures.  Last fall I decided to tear out some book cases here in my little book store and expand my limited space to include a weaving studio.  So with books surrounding my weaving space I have accomplished just that.  I have one floor loom and two table top looms set up and have been teaching weaving classes.  I really enjoy the one on one instructions.  Two at most.  I provide everything and will do 4 hour weaving class or all day to instruct how to set up the loom and prepare fabric, then weave.  They get to take home what ever they wove.  Its been alot of fun.  Here are some pictures.

Well after about 5 tries, I can't upload my pictures today, so maybe another time. 

Also wanted to mention that over Thanksgiving I made a trip back up to Iowa and bought a nice floor loom from my friend.  I just love it and will post some pictures of it too one of these days.

I guess one of my reasons for not posting much this past year is that sometimes when there is so much you would like to say, you end up at a loss for words at all.  I try not to be one of these people who have to document every scratch or sniffle for all to have to read about.  But have had a close family member with a life altering disease and it does make you put things into perspective.  But I am also learning that I have to take care of myself or I won't be there to take care of others.  And it isn't all physical care that I am talking about.  Maybe the mental care is more important so here I sit between a rock and a hard place.  I am private enough that out of respect to family I will not discuss it here, but just want to say that I have a heavy heart much of the time, so find it hard to spend my time blogging.  Perhaps if I really had an anonymous  blog that no one I knew read I might do that and it would be good for me.  Oh, well enough for today.  Maybe I can make this site load pictures next time.  

Can't believe this blog is 10 years old!!  That may be a record.  So its just nuts that I don't take a minute and keep this up more often

Thought for the day":  Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light!